Page 20 - Jigsaw May 2019

News from around the area..............................................................
Have you seen purple crocuses in public spaces this spring? If you have then it is quite possible that these have been put there by Rotary Clubs. Millions of crocuses are planted and spring each year sees a beautiful purple carpet of crocus blooming in many communities across Great Britain and Ireland thanks to the Purple Crocus Corm planting to raise awareness of the Rotary fight for a polio free world.
When the campaign to eradicate polio started there were 1,000 polio cases a day in 125 countries. Today the number of cases is down by 99.9%. Over the last 30 years, Rotary has donated US$1.8 billion to the eradication effort and has protected over 2.5 billion children from the disease through vaccination programmes. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was launched
in 1988. This remarkable partnership which includes Rotary, World Health Organization, UNICEF, the US Center for Disease Control & Prevention and, more recently, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation.
Despite there only being a handful
of cases left in the world, continued campaigning, health worker training and vaccination programmes are essential to stop the disease returning and ensuring the world is certified polio-free.
Rotary members continue to be key players in many aspects of the polio programme including on the ground in a number of countries as well as fundraising and advocacy. Failure to eradicate polio could result in as many as 200,000 new cases worldwide every year within a decade.
Raising money to end polio is just one
of the many things that local Rotary club members do to try and contribute to making our communities and world a better place. We are always keen to here from potential new members.
Find Rotary Club of Thrapston and Raunds on Facebook to see more of our activities.
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